Written Answers Thursday 8 March 2007

Scottish Executive

Child Poverty

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans have been initiated by its Education Department to address the issues raised in the UNICEF report on child poverty and what aspect of the report will be the department’s top priority.

Robert Brown: We are already taking action on the key areas identified in this report so new plans are not required.

  Improving outcomes and opportunities for all children in Scotland so that they can reach their full potential is a major priority for the Scottish Executive. We are investing in pre-school education, and in new and refurbished schools, improving educational attainment, supporting effective and affordable child care, and protecting and supporting our most vulnerable children, young people and families.

Climate Change

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the first annual report on Scotland’s climate change programme will be submitted to the Parliament.

Ross Finnie: The first annual report, Scotland’s Climate Change Programme: Annual Report 2007 is being laid before the Scottish Parliament today. Copies are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 42132).

Crime

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the 10 local authority areas with the (a) biggest and (b) smallest (i) reductions and (ii) increases in the number of (A) burglaries, (B) thefts of a motor vehicle, (C) thefts from a motor vehicle and (D) cases of criminal damage since 1996-97.

The Executive have supplied the following corrected answer:

Cathy Jamieson: The figures requested are shown in the tables below:

  Recorded crimes of Housebreaking by Local Authority, 1996-97 and 2005-06

  

 Local Authority
 1996-97
 2005-06
 Increase
 Percentage Increase


 Shetland Islands
 5
 15
 10
 200%


 Midlothian
 140
 142
 2
 1%


 City of Edinburgh
 2,792
 2,508
 -284
 -10%


 Highland
 303
 193
 -110
 -36%


 North Ayrshire
 821
 522
 -299
 -36%


 Clackmannanshire
 210
 132
 -78
 -37%


 South Lanarkshire
 1,356
 847
 -509
 -38%


 Aberdeenshire
 551
 323
 -228
 -41%


 North Lanarkshire
 1,226
 705
 -521
 -42%


 Fife
 1,942
 1,103
 -839
 -43%


 Moray
 176
 92
 -84
 -48%


 Stirling
 370
 186
 -184
 -50%


 South Ayrshire
 500
 237
 -263
 -53%


 Falkirk
 571
 265
 -306
 -54%


 West Lothian
 643
 296
 -347
 -54%


 East Ayrshire
 834
 378
 -456
 -55%


 Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
 9
 4
 -5
 -56%


 City of Glasgow
 6,779
 2,874
 -3,905
 -58%


 East Lothian
 231
 96
 -135
 -58%


 Aberdeen City
 2,744
 1,135
 -1,609
 -59%


 West Dunbartonshire
 921
 380
 -541
 -59%


 East Dunbartonshire
 608
 241
 -367
 -60%


 Renfrewshire
 1,423
 561
 -862
 -61%


 Scottish Borders
 237
 93
 -144
 -61%


 Argyll and Bute
 420
 161
 -259
 -62%


 East Renfrewshire
 694
 264
 -430
 -62%


 Angus
 296
 110
 -186
 -63%


 Dundee City
 1,948
 662
 -1,286
 -66%


 Dumfries and Galloway
 486
 165
 -321
 -66%


 Orkney Islands
 3
 1
 -2
 -67%


 Inverclyde
 984
 289
 -695
 -71%


 Perth and Kinross
 622
 155
 -467
 -75%



  Recorded Crimes of Theft from a Motor Vehicle by Local Authority, 1996-97 and 2005-06

  

 Local Authority
 1996-97
 2005-06
 Increase
 Percentage Increase


 Orkney Islands
 0
 0
 0
 0%


 Midlothian
 302
 289
 -13
 -4%


 Dumfries and Galloway
 245
 184
 -61
 -25%


 Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
 6
 4
 -2
 -33%


 City of Edinburgh
 5,856
 3,534
 -2,322
 -40%


 Clackmannanshire
 143
 69
 -74
 -52%


 East Lothian
 420
 186
 -234
 -56%


 Moray
 166
 73
 -93
 -56%


 Falkirk
 571
 248
 -323
 -57%


 West Lothian
 967
 410
 -557
 -58%


 Renfrewshire
 2,291
 875
 -1,416
 -62%


 Fife
 3,051
 1,139
 -1,912
 -63%


 Aberdeen City
 4,106
 1,449
 -2,657
 -65%


 Angus
 298
 101
 -197
 -66%


 North Ayrshire
 921
 308
 -613
 -67%


 Inverclyde
 875
 287
 -588
 -67%


 East Ayrshire
 929
 295
 -634
 -68%


 North Lanarkshire
 2,687
 839
 -1,848
 -69%


 Scottish Borders
 328
 101
 -227
 -69%


 Stirling
 421
 128
 -293
 -70%


 City of Glasgow
 11,941
 3,410
 -8,531
 -71%


 Aberdeenshire
 564
 148
 -416
 -74%


 South Ayrshire
 967
 215
 -752
 -78%


 Dundee City
 3,134
 696
 -2,438
 -78%


 South Lanarkshire
 2,343
 518
 -1,825
 -78%


 Argyll and Bute
 312
 66
 -246
 -79%


 East Dunbartonshire
 806
 165
 -641
 -80%


 Highland
 473
 89
 -384
 -81%


 East Renfrewshire
 1,446
 269
 -1,177
 -81%


 West Dunbartonshire
 1,211
 217
 -994
 -82%


 Perth and Kinross
 1,112
 141
 -971
 -87%


 Shetland Islands
 31
 0
 -31
 -100%



  Recorded crimes of Theft of a Motor Vehicle by Local Authority, 1996-97 and 2005/-06

  

 Local Authority
 1996-97
 2005-06
 Increase
 Percentage Increase


 Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
 37
 45
 8
 22%


 Midlothian
 240
 281
 41
 17%


 Aberdeen City
 984
 1,027
 43
 4%


 Inverclyde
 356
 348
 -8
 -2%


 Clackmannanshire
 112
 95
 -17
 -15%


 Shetland Islands
 19
 14
 -5
 -26%


 Fife
 1,212
 874
 -338
 -28%


 Dumfries and Galloway
 261
 186
 -75
 -29%


 Moray
 149
 106
 -43
 -29%


 Aberdeenshire
 363
 257
 -106
 -29%


 Highland
 342
 240
 -102
 -30%


 East Lothian
 268
 181
 -87
 -32%


 City of Edinburgh
 3,489
 2,171
 -1,318
 -38%


 Argyll and Bute
 221
 134
 -87
 -39%


 Scottish Borders
 229
 131
 -98
 -43%


 Falkirk
 528
 283
 -245
 -46%


 Orkney Islands
 30
 15
 -15
 -50%


 Stirling
 297
 133
 -164
 -55%


 Angus
 277
 123
 -154
 -56%


 West Lothian
 991
 440
 -551
 -56%


 North Lanarkshire
 2,623
 1,150
 -1,473
 -56%


 Perth and Kinross
 417
 181
 -236
 -57%


 East Ayrshire
 1,064
 395
 -669
 -63%


 North Ayrshire
 929
 339
 -590
 -64%


 City of Glasgow
 7,575
 2,318
 -5,257
 -69%


 West Dunbartonshire
 836
 251
 -585
 -70%


 South Lanarkshire
 2,669
 798
 -1,871
 -70%


 Dundee City
 1,748
 522
 -1,226
 -70%


 Renfrewshire
 2,110
 539
 -1,571
 -74%


 South Ayrshire
 669
 168
 -501
 -75%


 East Dunbartonshire
 671
 155
 -516
 -77%


 East Renfrewshire
 788
 141
 -647
 -82%



  Recorded Crimes of Vandalism, Reckless Damage and Malicious Mischief by Local Authority, 1996-97 and 2005-06

  

 Local Authority
 1996-97
 2005-06
 Increase
 Percentage Increase


 Orkney Islands
 91
 259
 168
 185%


 Midlothian
 1,208
 2,870
 1,662
 138%


 Clackmannanshire
 544
 1,167
 623
 115%


 Stirling
 738
 1,563
 825
 112%


 Inverclyde
 1,117
 2,347
 1,230
 110%


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1,601
 3,202
 1,601
 100%


 Scottish Borders
 1,091
 1,991
 900
 82%


 West Lothian
 2,491
 4,474
 1,983
 80%


 Highland
 2,114
 3,775
 1,661
 79%


 North Lanarkshire
 4,827
 8,618
 3,791
 79%


 East Lothian
 1,107
 1,896
 789
 71%


 Fife
 5,718
 9,778
 4,060
 71%


 South Lanarkshire
 4,062
 6,443
 2,381
 59%


 South Ayrshire
 1,491
 2,335
 844
 57%


 West Dunbartonshire
 1,832
 2,789
 957
 52%


 East Renfrewshire
 1,100
 1,670
 570
 52%


 Argyll and Bute
 1,012
 1,536
 524
 52%


 North Ayrshire
 2,264
 3,424
 1,160
 51%


 Falkirk
 1,855
 2,785
 930
 50%


 City of Edinburgh
 7,854
 11,555
 3,701
 47%


 East Dunbartonshire
 1,216
 1,788
 572
 47%


 Aberdeen City
 3,650
 5,315
 1,665
 46%


 East Ayrshire
 1,792
 2,601
 809
 45%


 City of Glasgow
 13,193
 18,171
 4,978
 38%


 Shetland Islands
 238
 308
 70
 29%


 Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
 272
 333
 61
 22%


 Aberdeenshire
 3,442
 4,066
 624
 18%


 Moray
 1,799
 2,022
 223
 12%


 Perth and Kinross
 2,063
 2,311
 248
 12%


 Renfrewshire
 3,659
 3,673
 14
 0%


 Angus
 1,952
 1,784
 -168
 -9%


 Dundee City
 4,194
 3,491
 -703
 -17%

Education

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional investment has been made in education in the Clydesdale constituency since 2003.

Hugh Henry: The Executive allocates resources to local authorities, and as such I cannot provide information about Clydesdale.

  However, total spending on education in South Lanarkshire has risen from £194 million in school year 2002-03 to £239 million in school year 2005-06, an increase of over 23%.

Employment

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how it records job losses and how many jobs have been lost in each year since 1999.

Nicol Stephen: There is no information held centrally on the number of jobs losses in Scotland. However, it is possible to look at the net change in jobs over time. The following table shows the net change in employee jobs in Scotland in each year since 1999.

  Table 1 Annual Change in the Level of Employee Jobs, 2000-05

  

 Year
 Annual Change


 1999-2000
 67,300


 2000-01
 65,500


 2001-02
 -20,300


 2002-03
 27,500


 2003-04
 33,000


 2004-05
 51,500



  Source: Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).

  Notes:

  1. The data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

  2. ABI data are workplace based.

Employment

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how it records job creation and how many jobs have been created in each year since 1999.

Nicol Stephen: There is no information held centrally on the number of jobs created in Scotland. However, it is possible to look at the net change in jobs over time and for this information I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-31932 on 8 March 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which hydro power schemes have downgraded from a capacity exceeding 20 megawatts to a capacity below 20 megawatts since 1999, also stating when this occurred and the company involved.

Nicol Stephen: The following eight hydro power schemes reduced their capacity from above 20 megawatts to below 20 megawatts before 1 April 2002, when the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) came into force.

  

 Hydro Station
 Owner


 Culligran
 Scottish and Southern Energy


 Finlarig
 Scottish and Southern Energy


 Grudie Bridge
 Scottish and Southern Energy


 Kinlochleven
 Alcan


 Mossford
 Scottish and Southern Energy


 Quoich
 Scottish and Southern Energy


 Shin
 Scottish and Southern Energy


 St Fillans
 Scottish and Southern Energy

Energy Efficiency

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31629 by Nicol Stephen on 21 February 2007, whether it will provide a breakdown of payments from the Central Energy Efficiency Fund.

Nicol Stephen: All local authorities have received their full allocation, as indicated in the following table, with the exception of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway who are all due to receive their second allocation during March 2007.

  

 Local Authority
 1st Allocation
 2nd Allocation
 Total Allocation


 Aberdeen City Council
 367,490.00
 197,879.00
 565,369.00


 Aberdeenshire Council
 412,674.00
 222,209.00
 634,883.00


 Angus Council
 208,585.00
 112,315.00
 320,900.00


 Argyll and Bute Council
 186,203.00
 100,263.00
 286,466.00


 City of Edinburgh Council
 777,201.00
 418,493.00
 1,195,694.00


 Clackmannanshire Council
 88,555.00
 47,683.00
 136,238.00


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 83,880.00
 45,166.00
 129,046.00


 Dumfries and Galloway Council
 291,858.00
 157,155.00
 449,013.00


 Dundee City Council
 296,407.66
 159,604.00
 456,011.66


 East Ayrshire Council
 227,874.00
 122,701.00
 350,575.00


 East Dunbartonshire Council
 193,165.00
 104,012.00
 297,177.00


 East Lothian Council
 160,218.00
 86,271.00
 246,489.00


 East Renfrewshire Council
 161,561.00
 86,994.00
 248,555.00


 Falkirk Council
 257,552.00
 138,682.00
 396,234.00


 Fife Council
 645,085.77
 347,354.00
 992,439.77


 Glasgow City Council
 1,270,656.00
 684,199.00
 1,954,855.00


 Highland Council
 436,795.00
 235,197.00
 671,992.00


 Inverclyde Council
 168,807.00
 90,896.00
 259,703.00


 Midlothian Council
 147,984.91
 79,684.00
 227,668.91


 Moray Council
 159,509.00
 85,890.00
 245,399.00


 North Ayrshire Council
 264,189.00
 142,256.00
 406,445.00


 North Lanarkshire Council
 604,200.00
 325,339.00
 929,539.00


 Orkney Islands Council
 57,574.00
 31,001.00
 88,575.00


 Perth and Kinross Council
 251,196.00
 135,259.00
 386,455.00


 Renfrewshire Council
 329,448.00
 177,395.00
 506,843.00


 Scottish Borders Council
 162,600.00
 162,600.00
 325,200.00


 Shetland Island Council
 75,166.00
 40,474.00
 115,640.00


 South Ayrshire Council
 211,414.00
 113,838.00
 325,252.00


 South Lanarkshire Council
 560,673.00
 301,901.00
 862,574.00


 Stirling Council
 164,033.00
 88,326.00
 252,359.00


 West Dunbartonshire Council
 195,714.00
 105,384.00
 301,098.00


 West Lothian Council
 282,952.00
 152,359.00
 435,311.00



  The 14 NHS health boards in Scotland have received their allocations as indicated in the following table.

  

 NHS Trust
 Available Budget
 Allocation 2005-06
 Allocation 2006-07


 Ayrshire and Arran
£235,000
 Nil
£121,629


 Borders
£109,000
£80,000
 


 Dumfries and Galloway 
£104,000
 Nil
£104,000


 Fife
£198,000
 Nil
£90,000


 Forth Valley
£161,000
£23,000
£36,000


 Grampian
£398,000
£135,000
£263,000


 Highland 
£232,000
 Nil
£109,000


 Greater Glasgow
£1,034,000
£799,000
£235,000


 Lanarkshire
£257,000
 Nil
 Nil


 Lothian
£673,000
£110,000
£453,800


 Shetland
£60,000
 Nil
£14,200


 Tayside
£410,000
£22,000
£388,000


 Orkney
£58,000
 Nil
 Nil


 Western Isles
£71,000
 Nil
£40,200


 Total
£4,000,000
£1,169,000
£1,854,829



  In addition, the National Waiting Times Centre has received £106,000 giving a total spend for the NHS of £3,129,829 to 31 March 2007. The NHS will draw down their remaining funds during 2007-08.

  Scottish Water have received their full allocation of £1 million.

Europe

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31737 by Mr Tom McCabe on 22 February 2007, to what occasion or occasions the reference in the draft paper, EU Business: Reviews of Engagement with Europe and of EU Office, to "unfortunate examples are where there is no seat for the Minister in the council room during the meeting so they have to follow discussions from the salle d’écoute alongside officials" relates; which minister or ministers were involved in these examples, and at which council meeting or meetings such circumstances have arisen.

Mr Tom McCabe: It is not our policy to comment on leaked documents.

Housing

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total investment in affordable housing was from 1999 (a) to 2003 and (b) the most recent date for which figures are available

Des McNulty: Between 1999 and 2003 around £870 million was invested in affordable housing from our Development Funding Programme. By 2006-07 total investment since 1999 had risen to over £2.4 billion.

Human Trafficking

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking as a result of the report, Contemporary slavery in the UK: overview and key issues , produced for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Cathy Jamieson: Slavery is a terrible and unacceptable evil. In today’s world, there is no place for the trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation or forced labour.

  Later this month, the Scottish Executive and the Home Office will publish our Joint Action Plan on Human Trafficking. The plan will focus on four key areas: prevention; enforcement and prosecution; victim support, and child trafficking.

  The Executive will work closely with the UK government, police forces, local authorities and other stakeholders to implement the recommendations in the Action Plan and to ensure that Scotland meets its responsibilities under the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Libraries

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out an audit of library buildings to assess whether there is adequate library provision in appropriate, well-sited buildings.

Patricia Ferguson: Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure the provision of adequate library facilities for all persons resident in their area. The adequacy of library buildings is therefore a matter for local authorities as part of their estates management programme.

  The Executive is funding a new Public Library Quality Improvement Matrix which will be launched very soon. The matrix is designed to be used by local authorities as a self-evaluation tool encouraging continuous improvement in public library services.

Older People

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, as part of its strategies in respect of healthy living, it will consider, and provide the opportunity for an open debate on, introducing a structured scheme whereby older people may be prescribed exercise by their GP rather than conventional medication.

Mr Andy Kerr: General practitioners in many health boards already refer patients on to exercise. The most common model that exists is where a general practitioner or other professional allied to medicine refers a patient to facilities such as leisure centres or gyms for supervised exercise programmes. I recognise that while this is appropriate it may not suit older people who might benefit more from home or community-based interventions, with fewer sport and fitness connotations, which are at least as effective and support the need for a variety of approaches and settings.

  We recognise the potential of GP Referral Schemes, if properly managed and supported, to provide an opportunity to address inequalities in health care and disease prevention. That is why we are investing and evaluating referral schemes in Glasgow and Highland NHS board areas.

Pay

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-29903 by Nicol Stephen on 16 February 2007, what percentage of the total workforce in each local authority area is represented by these figures.

Nicol Stephen: The following table shows the proportion of employees within each local authority area who are considered low paid as defined in the answer to question S2W-29903 on 16 February 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Table 1 Proportion of Employees who are Low Paid by Local Authority Area

  

 Local Authority
 Proportion


 Aberdeen City
 24.9%


 Aberdeenshire
 26.4%


 Angus
 22.9%


 Argyll and Bute
 23.1%


 Scottish Borders
 26.9%


 Clackmannanshire
 28.8%


 Dumfries and Galloway
 29.7%


 Dundee City
 25.8%


 East Ayrshire
 23.7%


 East Dunbartonshire
 18.4%


 East Lothian
 18.1%


 East Renfrewshire
 15.8%


 Edinburgh, City of
 17.2%


 Falkirk
 22.9%


 Fife
 21.2%


 Glasgow City
 25.2%


 Highland
 28.1%


 Inverclyde
 26.7%


 Midlothian
 18.6%


 Moray
 26.6%


 North Ayrshire
 22.7%


 North Lanarkshire
 22.3%


 Orkney Islands
 19.9%


 Perth and Kinross
 20.9%


 Renfrewshire
 22.5%


 Shetland Islands
 15.5%


 South Ayrshire
 24.3%


 South Lanarkshire
 18.8%


 Stirling
 23.3%


 West Dunbartonshire
 26.9%


 West Lothian
 19.8%


 Western Isles
 21.4%



  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

  Notes:

  1. The estimates are based on the hourly pay excluding overtime and shift premium payments.

  2. The estimates are based on a sample survey, and as such, are subject to sampling error.

Renewable Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all renewable schemes that have received Renewables Obligation Certificate funding since 1999, also showing how much each scheme received.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally.

  The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) (ROS) is administered by Ofgem, whose website, www.ofgem.gov.uk has information about the number of Scottish Renewables Obligation Certificates issued and statistics on the number and types of generating stations accredited under the ROS.

Residential Care

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the report of the Historical Abuse Systemic Review: Residential Care for Children and Young People in Scotland 1950-1995 will be completed.

Hugh Henry: On 30 June 2005, the Minister for Education and Young People announced the appointment of Mr Tom Shaw to lead the independent historical abuse systemic review. It was hoped that the review would conclude its work by February 2007. Mr Tom Shaw has requested an extension of this timescale until September 2007. This will enable the review team to ensure the production of a thorough and robust report. I have therefore agreed to extend the deadline for the review to be completed by September 2007.

Scottish Civic Forum

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the role is of the Scottish Civic Forum.

Ms Margaret Curran: Creation of a Scottish Civic Forum was a Consultative Steering Group recommendation. It reflected the consensus view that the new Scottish Parliament should work in ways that were open and accessible to all.

  The potential role fulfilled by the forum has evolved since 1999. Since then the Parliament has developed an increasing confidence in its own ability to engage directly with wider civic society. The Executive too has become better at encouraging public participation in decision-making, in line with our belief in fostering good citizenship and building a confident, democratic Scotland.

  We remain firmly committed to developing our links with a wide range of civic organisations and to improving further our performance in consulting members of the public when we develop new policy initiatives and legislative proposals.

  Fundamental to our vision is a recognition of the need not only to promote better public engagement with government but also to encourage greater participation by individuals in wider society, for example through volunteering and community involvement.

  I have been working closely with ministerial colleagues to ensure that the importance that this Executive attaches to civic participation and inclusiveness will set standards which can be carried forward and built upon by future administrations.

Scottish Executive Funding

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money was provided to Chunghwa Telecom; how many jobs were (a) promised and (b) created, and how much money has been clawed back from the company.

Nicol Stephen: No public money has been provided to Chunghwa Telecom and no jobs have been promised or created.

Scottish Executive Funding

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money was provided to Thomson Holidays in respect of its call centre operation in Cardonald, Glasgow; how many jobs were (a) promised and (b) created, and how much money has been clawed back from the company.

Nicol Stephen: In 2000, TUI (UK) Ltd, Thomson Holidays’ parent company, accepted a regional selective assistance grant of £1.4 million for a project that planned to create 600 new jobs. All of the grant was paid, and when the final instalment was made in March 2005 the company had created 618 jobs.

  Following the announcement of the company’s intention to close the business in August 2006, the Executive recovered £200,000 of the grant.

  In addition, the company received £550,465 in grants from Scottish Enterprise Glasgow. Conditions relating to these grants are an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise Glasgow.

Scottish Executive Funding

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money was provided to Lexmark in respect of its operation in Fife; how many jobs were (a) promised and (b) created, and how much money has been clawed back from the company.

Nicol Stephen: Lexmark International (Scotland) Ltd accepted three offers of regional selective assistance (RSA). In 1995 and 1998 it accepted offers of £5.6 million and £5.9 million that helped create 353 and 562 new jobs respectively. Both of theses grants were paid in full and the company met its obligations under the terms of the agreements. No grant was recovered.

  In 2002, the company accepted an RSA offer of £900,000 for a project that planned to safeguard 200 jobs. It received £250,000 of the grant. Following closure of the facility, the Executive recovered this entire proportion of the grant.

  In addition, Scottish Enterprise Fife provided Lexmark with a total of £727,142 during the period 1996 to 2005. Conditions relating to these grants are an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise Fife.